Sarawak Latest News

SMK Penrissen No 1 had only three students scoring straight As in all subjects but that was enough to make the teachers smile when the 2008 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results were announced yesterday.

In 2007, only two students scored straight As in the SPM.

This time round, more students qualified for a full SPM certificate based on a pass in Bahasa Malaysia paper.

A spokesperson for the school told Eastern Times yesterday that the passing rate this time was 84.62, compared with 80.18 for the 2007 SPM.

“With all the constraints that we faced and the environment of the school, we are generally quite satisfied with the achievements.

“Of course, we will not rest on our laurel but will strive harder in the future.
“This may include providing tuition classes to the weak students,” he said.

The spokesman added that the three students who scored straight As had sat for 12, 11 and 10 subjects respectively.

He said besides the top three scorers, two other students obtained 9As, three 8As, one 7As and nine 6As.

443 SPM candidates

SMK Penrissen No. 1, one of the rural schools in this district and about 20 kilometres from here, had 443 candidates sitting for the SPM examination last year.

The SPM results saw 6,277 students scoring straight As in all subjects throughout the country, compared with 5,060 in 2007.

Education Ministry Director-General, Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom said 1,676 students scored A1s in all subjects, compared with 892 in 2007 while 181,416 or 46.7% passed all subjects compared with 175,452 in 2007.

“There were three excellent result achievers who scored A1s in all 16 subjects, two who scored A1s in 15 subjects while six scored A1s in 14 subjects,” said Alimuddin while announcing the SPM and STAM results in Putrajaya.

Last year, 442,936 students sat for the SPM compared with 439,255 in 2007; 435 Special students also sat for the examination last year, compared with 355 the previous year.

Goh Fui Phing

Riam Road Secondary School SPM Results for 2008 prove to be excellent. Out of the 77 candidates, 39 obtained at least five credits and above and 25 a minimum of five distinctions.
Among them Goh Fui Phing secured 16A1s, possibly one of the top in the nation. The CEO, Dato’ Dr. Fong Onn Min said that this is the first time he sees such a fantastic result and hopes that more students of Riam Road Secondary School will get such good result in the future.

Goh Fui Phing, Head girl of the school, under the motivation of Fong sat for 16 subjects. Her straight A1 in all 16 subjects has indeed brought glory not only to herself and family but also to the students, teachers and the whole school. This has proven that Chinese Independent School ‘boleh”!.

Goh was from Krokop Chung Hua Primary School. She obtained 7As in the UPSR and 8As in the PMR and the Chinese Independent School Examinations.

An all rounder in school, Goh Fui Phing hopes to secure a Government Scholarship to pursue a medical degree overseas.

Following closely behind Goh Fui Phing in the school is Hii Kah Yung who took 15 subjects and obtained 12As and 3Bs. Lesley Lai Hsien Ching, daughter of Miri City Mayor Lawrence Lai obtained all A in the 11 subjects she took, 10 A1s and 1A2. This is the result of the good parental care she receives.

Lesley is now overseas for further studies. Her cousin and classmate, Ginny Liew Shiang May, now studying Cambridge A-Level in Riam Institute of Technology obtained 10As and 3Bs. Together with Ginny in Riam Institute of Technology is Vivian Kong Sing Ung with 10A1s and 1B in the 11 subjects she sat for.

Fong commented that the excellent result is due to the conducive environment and the relentless effort of the teachers and students who are imbued with the Riam Road Secondary Spirit of “If I Want, I Surely Can” in their relentless effort to strive for excellence.
The other outstanding students include, Andy Tan Dih Xiang, Arvin Julian Kho Kai Xuan, Chia Kar Lynn, Edmund Tang Tuang Shen, Eleen Law Yi Lin, Goh Pik Cheng, Hudson Agan Yong Twan Tsen, Kiew Shook Ching, Kueh Mei Mei, Lin Mei Na, Pang Yee Fatt, Pui Jin Fatt, Wong Yew Hui, Wong Yew Yan, Yeo Hui Kiat, Huang Chyi Yenn, Connie Kuok Mong Wei, Esther Paya Avit, Tang Mean and Wong Mei Fen.

The Barisan Nasional candidate for the Batang Ai by-election is expected to be unveiled on Saturday.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud told reporters on Wednesday that he had not yet decided on the candidate for the constituency.

However, he said the state Barisan would meet this Saturday to discuss who would represent the coalition in the coming by-election.

Asked whether he would announce the candidate after the meeting, he replied: “Yes.”

The Batang Ai seat fell vacant when its assemblyman Datuk Dublin Unting Ingkot, who was also Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) vice president and state assistant minister of sports and agriculture, died on Feb 24.

PRS president Datuk Dr James Masing had last week submitted one name to the Barisan leadership for consideration.

The name was widely speculated to be that of senior agriculture officer Malcolm Mossen Lamoh.

Nomination for the by-election is on March 29 and polling on April 7.

In the 2006 state election, Unting defeated Nicholas Bawin Anggat, who stood on a Sarawak National Party (SNAP) ticket, by 806 votes in a straight fight.

Bawin, who is now Sarawak PKR deputy liaison committee chairman, is one of two front-runners for the Opposition candidacy. The other is former Lubok Antu MP Jawah Gerang.

The pass rate for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) at SMK St Joseph has improved although the number of straight A scorers has decreased.

Its deputy principal Belinda Lim said that those who obtained four principal passes have increased to 42.37 per cent from 34 per cent the previous year.

“This year we only have three 4As scorers as compared to the previous year when we had five. On the other hand, the number of students who passed all papers has increased. This year we have 50 students who achieved it out of 118 students who sat for the examination,” said Lim when met at the school yesterday.

Top scorer Gerald Sim who obtained 2As and 2A- aims to serve the people by applying to study medicine.

“After collecting my results today, I plan to try to apply into local universities majoring in medicine. My targeted institutions include Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Malaya and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas),” said Sim.

Sim, the middle child of three, plans to be the first doctor in his family, unlike his father who is an engineer and his brother who is studying accounting. He is also the first one to go to Form Six.

On his recipe for success, Sim said that he studied at least two hours a day from right after entering Lower Six. He said he was very happy and satisfied with his results.

Another top scorer, Jacob Su, was surprised that he obtained A in all subjects including physics and General Knowledge.

He named the National University of Singapore and several local public institutions as his choices in which to continue his studies. He plans to take up electrical engineering.

The fourth child in a family of five siblings said group study was the best way to obtain excellent results, while being calm and cool during examination helped to keep him focused.

Another student who scored four As is Pauline Liaw while two others, Darren Chin and Aida Adilla, scored 3As.

Meanwhile, another top scorer from SMK St Thomas, Fiona Liew Chee Wei, revealed that her success came from studying very hard especially the last few weeks before examination.

“I prepared my revision rather last minute sort of. I really stayed up late in the last few weeks before the examination,” she said when met at the school yesterday.

Asked whether the result was what she expected, Liew said she was confident that she could score 3As, pointing out however, that she was less certain about scoring high marks for Mathematics.

“I wanted this result (4As). But I was not confident with Mathematics after the examination. I thought it was difficult,” she pointed out.

Currently a temporary teacher at the school, Liew scored A in General Knowledge, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics. She said she would study medicine in university and hopes to be a doctor.

Liew was one of the two students in SMB St Thomas who scored Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.00. The other student was Phang Nyuk Choo.

Phang who came to the school to collect her result slip, said she was happy with her result and thanked her family for their support.

She said the secret of success was time management. “It is essential to manage our time wisely,” she stressed.

She scored A in General Knowledge, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. She said she would apply for courses related to Physics or Mathematics at a local university.

Another student, Pui Chai Fuen, who wished to further her study in either engineering or information technology, said she spent around six hours a day for revision. The girl who lives in Matang Jaya here scored A in General Knowledge, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

“I normally studied six hours a day. After finishing my revision and assessment exercises, I’d watch TV to relax my mind,” she said.

Another top scorer, Tang Chew Yong, said she felt disappointed with her result as she was expecting to score four As but managed only one A and three A- instead.

She scored A for General Knowledge and A- in Literature in English, Business Study and History.

Tang, currently a temporary teacher in SMK Kuching High here, wished to further her studies in education. Tang thanked her teachers for her success, saying: “I did not attend any tuition class. Besides studying by myself, my teachers had helped me a lot.”

Whenever she felt stressed, she would pray to release her tension, she said.

The Borneo Post was unable to get the overall result of SMB St Thomas as the school was still compiling its statistics.

Pak Junoh

Fariza bin Gom holding Pak Junoh’s hat which was found by the rescue team.

Three colleagues watched in horror as a crocodile stealthily swam towards their foreman, grabbed him by the stomach, and dragged him into the placid water of Demak Laut river yesterday.

In the 11.00 am incident, Pak Junoh, a 43-year-old foreman of a sawmill nearby, was fishing with Fariza bin Gom, 31, from Samarahan, Jamadi bin Radat, 20, from Kuching and Sarizak, 18, from Sibuyau when he was attacked.

Relating the ordeal, Fariza, who was in the water with Junoh, said he was even further from the river bank than Junoh when the crocodile attacked.
“Both of us were casting our nets while Jamadi and Sarizak were waiting near the river bank to bring the catch in.

“After the crocodile grabbed Junoh it disappeared, and a moment later, it re-appeared with the latter’s leg flapping in the air. All of us immediately screamed for help,” said Fariza.
Police and 999 were alerted and they arrived promptly to conduct a search for the victim.
Fariza said that because of the economic downturn, his colleagues and he used to do some fishing at Demak Laut river to earn side income.

Junoh’s wife, Ramliebi, 42, who was picking “paku” (jungle fern) near the barrack where they are staying when the incident happened.

The couple have four children aged 21, 18, 13 and 5 years. Two of their children are staying in Pontianak and the other two are with the parents.

At press time, Junoh’s remains were still at large. The search and rescue party has thus far found a hat belonging to Junoh. Fariza said Junoh was wearing a white shirt, blue trousers and a pair of yellow boots at the time of the attack.

Here’s a list of HALAL eateries in Sarawak that we got from Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak’s website. For full and updated list, do click on the link. You can also get to see what they serve in the eatery.

However, we noticed that some of the eateries that we saw with the HALAL certificate displayed aren’t listed in the website. You can always contact Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak to confirm as they might have not updated the list in the website, only do so once in a blue moon.

Kuching 'kolo mee' or 'koh-loh mein' (egg noodles, flash-boiled and then served with sliced roast pork), Kuching Laksa (a spicy curry soup base served with rice vermicelli) and Tomato Mee (crispy noodles served with tomato sauce, vegetables, and meat) are the most famous hawker dishes served. Perhaps infamous would be a better term, as non-Kuching residents often fail to see what the fuss is all about.

Food Centres: These are the most popular eating-places amongst locals. There is always a wide selection of value-for-money stalls and you can select food from as many as you like. If you are not familiar with a dish, just be adventurous and try it. Nine times out of ten you will be delighted, and if you don’t like it, nobody will be offended.

Chinese Food Centre: Jln Carpenter (opposite temple). A range of Chinese food stalls. One stall sells excellent fish balls and prawn balls (afternoon only). Another stall sells superb fish and prawn soup from late afternoon until late at night.

Kubah Ria: (across the river near suspension bridge). A bit difficult to get to unless you have transport. If you can make it, try the delicious Sop Kambing (mutton soup) at Doreen Abdullah’s, served with noodles, rice or crusty French bread.

Top Spot Food Court: Jln Bukit Mata Kuching. A wide range of food stalls set in landscaped surroundings on the breezy top floor of a car park. Choices include Malay curries, Malay and Chinese seafood, claypot dishes, satay, and even steaks. Unusual and very popular.